Volendam, fairground 1897. A young woman in traditional costume wears a short gold necklace with three pendants over her blue bodice: an anchor, a cross, and a heart. She inherited them from her mother, who received them from her mother. The jeweller on the harbour didn't invent the trinity — it has been present in European devotional prints for centuries — but he sells the small gold sets with clockwork regularity. Every girl receives one at confirmation, every bride at marriage. The three symbols together express what a long prayer cannot.
Anchor, cross, and heart: hope, faith, and charity. The trio originates from Paul's letter to the Corinthians ("these three remain: faith, hope and love"), but the jewellery form is more recent. It was not until the late eighteenth century that goldsmiths in France and the Netherlands began to combine the three symbols on a single necklace or pin. In the nineteenth century, the motif was worn widely in both Catholic and Protestant regions — a rare form of jewellery that transcends the church schism.
The Meaning
Each of the three symbols has its own, older history. The cross is the oldest Christian symbol and already appeared in early Christian burial contexts. The anchor is traced back to the Letter to the Hebrews, where hope is called "an anchor for the soul"; in the catacombs of Rome, the anchor is engraved on the sarcophagi of persecuted Christians who dared not openly display the cross. The heart as a symbol of love is more recent — it was only in the late Middle Ages that the flaming, burning, or crowned heart found a firm place in Christian iconography, especially in devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
What makes the trio special is its inner logic. Worn separately, each symbol is an expression of faith; together, they are a quotation. Giving a girl a set of anchor-cross-heart at her confirmation was not giving her three amulets but one bible verse to wear around her neck. This also explains why re-set individual pieces are worth so much less than an intact set: the motif is the constellation, not the individual symbol.
In the Netherlands, the motif is particularly intertwined with regional jewellery — the necklaces and pins associated with traditional regional costume. See the regional jewellery knowledge base guide for context. In Volendam, Marken, Bunschoten, and the Land van Cuijk, the three symbols are an integral part of bridal and confirmation attire. In Protestant regions (Zeeland, Urk), the trio appears somewhat later, usually without a crucifix but as a plain smooth cross.
Through the Periods
In the early nineteenth century (until approximately 1860), the sets were often made of 14-carat yellow gold, with simple smooth surfaces and a discreet size — one to one and a half centimetres per symbol. The pendants hung separately from a common ring; the anchor had a triangular stock, the cross was Latin (longer downwards), and the heart was slightly convex and plain. For the context of this early style of work, see the Victorian style guide.
Around 1870–1900, the motif flourished in Dutch regional workshops. Goldsmiths in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Schoonhoven supplied regional jewellers; the symbols became slightly larger, received engraving (floral scrolls on the anchor, ears of corn on the heart), and sometimes a small cabochon garnet in the centre of the cross. Sets were made in 14 and 18 carat; the carat often revealed the region and the prosperity of the family.
In the Edwardian period (1901–1915), a finer, more decorative variant appeared: smaller pendants in millegrain-edged gold, sometimes with rose-cut diamonds along the edges. These are no longer regional jewels but bourgeois designs for urban ladies, worn on a delicate fine necklace. They are less devotionally charged and more of a sentimental quotation.
Between 1920 and 1960, the motif almost completely disappeared from the commercial circuit. Traditional costume went out of fashion, and regional jewellers closed down. Only as family heirlooms did the gold sets pass from mother to daughter. It was not until after 2000 that a cautious revival began in golden commemorative jewellery — contemporary designers created new versions in fine gold, usually without the regionally specific context.
The first thing to check is completeness.
How to recognise an original
The first thing to check is completeness. An original set has three pendants from the same hand: same gold colour, same engraving style, same wear pattern. If one of the three is distinctly different (brighter gold colour, no wear on the connecting ring, different engraving pattern), it is a later replacement. For collectors, an intact trio is highly valued; two originals plus one replacement are significantly less valuable.
Next, examine the attachment. In original Dutch work, the three symbols usually hang from three small loops that pass through one common clasp or ring; sometimes there is a medium-sized gold brooch as a carrier from which the three symbols hang. In modern reproductions, the loops are often machine-stamped, identifiable by their perfect regularity of shape and thickness.
Then, examine the hallmarks. Dutch fineness marks (sword for 14 kt, crown for 18 kt, Mercury head as import mark) are usually found on one of the three pendants or on the ring — seldom on all three. See the hallmarks hub and carat fineness explanation. In early work, the hallmark may be absent (goldsmiths sometimes worked without compulsory assaying back then); this is not proof of forgery but a reason to pay extra attention to the gold colour and craftsmanship.
Finally: devotional or decorative? Devotional examples are often plain, with a Christ on the cross and no gemstones; they were worn to mass or prayer and sometimes show visible wear on the back from daily contact with clothing and skin. Decorative variants from the Edwardian and Art Nouveau periods are more ornate, with enamel or stones, and show less wear — they were worn for special occasions. Both are authentic, but the distinction impacts value and context.